THE HOUSEGUESTS
by shesxAMAZING
Summary: AU. TxG, R/S interference. they just couldn t stay away from their old best friends...but now they re back, and that s just the beginning...


**THE HOUSEGUESTS.  
**_they just couldn`t stay away from their old best friends...but now they`re back, and that`s just the beginning..._

**INTRO**

This vacation was so necessary. After spending the week wallowing in graduate school graduation bliss, the summer was such a necessary reason to spend a few weeks away from New Mexico. Especially the hotel they were in, away from the lofted two level split home she had spent nearly every waking moment in studying up to achieving her greatest achievement: becoming Dr. Gabriella Montez-Bolton. This vacation felt like a godsend after weeks of forms and stress and thinking of disseration add-ins that couldn`t wait to be completed. Now, with the road ahead filled with fresh air and open seas, she knew she could relax freely.

The bed Gabriella laid in literally swallowed her whole. Swaddled in the white sheets and the white comforter of the hotel bed, she felt like a pea in an ocean. There was nothing but an endless mass of softness all around her.

She rolled over and buried her head in the cloud of down comforter, pressing her palms against the pillow she felt nearby. Slowly she breathed out, deeply snuggling her cheek and her lips against the softness. If this was a dream, Gabriella didn't want to wake up. Sleep was precious when you were on the road all the time like she was.

Gabriella slid up from the sheets and propped herself against the wooden headboard of the king-sized bed she was laying in. Immediately, the image of the morning sun over the ocean beyond her hotel balcony caught her attention. Her eyes grew wide with amazement as she observed how the rays of light seemed to lay against the water. There was so much quiet beauty to an ocean in the morning.

She could feel the tickle of loose strands of brown hair falling to her shoulders as she eased her way to the side of the bed that faced the morning sun. Gabriella dangled her feet off the edge before jumping to the plush white carpet on the floor. Her eyes were still fixed on the sun against the ocean. She followed that sight, and walked barefooted to the edge of the balcony, realizing she was dressed in merely a leopard print baby-doll when she felt the sudden breeze sweep over her. The goose bumps forming on her bare shoulders didn't matter at all. All that mattered was that she wasn't dreaming. Gabriella peered down from the balcony at the waves spilling onto the white sand, and closed her eyes tight.

"Please don't be dreaming", Gabriella thought. She squeezed her eyes tighter, and felt a tingle as the breeze floated against her skin. Then she felt a pair of arms envelope her waist, and squeeze her tightly. Her breath caught in her throat a second.

"Open your eyes. It's beautiful", He said moving the hair away from her ear and nuzzling her neck.  
Gabriella did open her eyes, and all she could do was smile. She exhaled deeply, and turned towards him, raising her arms to loop around his neck. Gingerly, she stood on the tips of her toes to bring his lips down against hers, kissing him until her feet were back flat against the concrete and her back was slightly bent over the balcony.

Gabriella looked up into his eyes and couldn't help but smile. He was still leaned down over her as she pressed her hands to his face and rubbed her thumbs against his cheeks. "I'm so glad I'm not dreaming."  
His laughter shook the two of them gently. "No, you're not dreaming."

She turned back around and pressed her back against the fabric of his thin cotton tank top, curling her arms around his and hooking her foot behind his ankle until they were a tangled mess. "Okay, now close your eyes and listen to the ocean," he told her.

Gabriella did and breathed in the fresh clear California air. She was away, and she didn't want to be anywhere else. She maneuvered around once more and grabbed his face in her palms, tracing his full lips with her thumb. "Ryan... I... love you." A tear trickled down her eye as she pulled him against her, and squeezed her eyelids shut again.

When Gabriella opened her eyes once more she was back lying in the bed in her dream, only this time she was slightly buried underneath the cloud of sheets and comforter. As she slid up to the headboard, all she could do was chuckle, pressing her palms to hair that felt like it had been swept in a tornado. Willie? She thought with a laugh. "But... Mmm, Ryan," she whispered as she remembered her dream about dreaming.

She looked over beside her at the sinewy mass of muscle and smooth tanned skin stretched out next to her in bed. He was lying on his stomach snoring softly; Gabriella watched him lying peacefully and then noticed the sun over the ocean, just like in her dream. She laughed again, and abruptly straddled his back, reaching for the pillow beside the bed and started beating it against his head.

"Get up..." She yelled, with laughter.

"Come look at the sunrise". She hit him with the pillow again.

"Get up Troy!" She finally succeeded in getting him up, and shook off any dreams she had of Ryan.


End file.
